Who is Mark Watson? Celebrity Island 2017 castaway who quit the show, comedian and novelist
MARK Watson made his name as a star of the notoriously unforgiving stand-up circuit – but now he's facing an entirely different ordeal.
The quirky funnyman was one of the famous faces being tested to the limit by Bear Grylls on the second series of Celebrity Island, but he was forced to quit after almost DYING on the show.
Who is Mark Watson?
Although during his early stand-up career he performed with a distinctive Welsh accent, Mark Watson was actually born in Bristol, on February 13 1980.
His mother hailed from Wales, and Mark later said it made him feel more comfortable to perform with a voice that he "didn't quite recognise as my own".
He graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge with a first in English, where he became friends with fellow comic Tim Key, who was best man at his wedding.
After first appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe with the Cambridge Footlights in 2001, his solo comedy career took off when he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Best Newcomer Award in 2005.
He has become well-known for his offbeat, ambitious shows, performing several marathon 24-hour gigs, and has released two DVDS of his stand-up.
Mark is also an acclaimed novelist, with the most recent of his six books 'The Place That Didn't Exist' published in 2016.
He is married to theatre director Emily Watson Howes and the couple have two children, a son and a daughter.
The 37-year-old is a football obsessive who revealed he wanted to be a sports commentator as a child – that he even "dreams a lot" about football.
What TV shows has Mark appeared on?
Mark has made several forays onto the silver screen, most notably with a TV version of We Need Answers, one of his fringe shows, and ITV sports panel show Mark Watson Kicks Off.
However, you might know him better from his regular appearances on a host of much-loved panel shows, such as Mock The Week, Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Would I Lie To You?
The chirpy star has also made several radio shows, including Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better, which aired for two series on BBC Radio 4.
What is Celebrity Island and when is it on TV?
A total of 10 celebs, including Towie's Lucy Mecklenburgh and Corrie's Ryan Thomas, signed up to spend a few weeks stranded on an island in Panama for the new series of Bear Grylls' show.
However, Mark was forced to quit after a fortnight on Celebrity Island, after collapsing and losing two-and-a-half stone due to illness.
The comedian insisted that he had no regrets over quitting the show half way through.
He said he had given “absolutely everything” but was forced to leave after being sleep deprived took its toll and was told it was in his best interests to quit.
He said: "I lost a huge amount of weight – about two and a half stone.
"I had terrible skin – I’d been bitten to pieces by insects. And I was just weary.
"I was walking around like an 80-year-old. You do come back in a pretty poor state."
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